Warning track
The warning track ( dt: warning strip ) is the peripheral marginal portion of a baseball field between the grass box, and the wall or the fence of the field boundary. It is used to ensure that an outfielder who walks towards the fence and looks at the ball approaching from behind does not hit the fence without warning.
Not every baseball field has a stripe like this. In most professional leagues, however, it is part of the court construction requirements, but the warning track is also required for international competitions ( European championships , world championships ). In amateur leagues like in Germany, the warning stripe is usually included in the construction of a new field in order to meet the requirements when European competitions are held.
The texture and the material used differ from the lawn covering. The surface usually consists of sand or small grains (0.1-0.4 mm grain size), such as flooring . The colors vary from light red to dark orange to gray.
The different texture and color helps the field players when pursuing a flyball to keep their focus on the ball and at the same time to perceive the proximity to the field boundary, which prevents painful collisions with the outer fence.
The strip is also used as a lane for maintenance equipment and vehicles to avoid damaging the lawn.
The width or depth of the strip varies depending on the baseball field: Generally, a field player should take three steps to run. Common dimensions start at two meters in the student leagues and increase to up to five meters in the highest profile leagues.
origin
The idea of the Warning Track has its origins in Yankee Stadium in New York. In order to be able to hold athletics events in the stadium , a running track was originally built. The baseball players were quick to recognize the benefits of running track for their game and soon after each stadium had its own warning track.
Outfielders can often be seen running into the outfield wall to catch a ball. The reasons for this are different: Sometimes the outfielder does not notice the warning of proximity to the limit or, in his sporting ambition, tries to catch balls close to the wall. For this reason, the outfield boundaries are usually provided with padding .
Warning-track power is used as a derogatory remark to players who hit a wide fly ball , but which lands in the opponent's glove just before the outer field boundary instead of crossing the fence as a home run .